1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a development assisting apparatus for instant camera film, which is used in developing instant camera film, enabling easy development of the film once exposed, and giving a finished photograph in a short time.
2. Description of the Related Art
With instant cameras, instant camera films such as the peel apart type incorporating a negative film and a positive paper are widely used. With these instant camera films, after exposure the film is removed from the camera, a bag containing processing agent being ruptured and at the time of removal by a roller on the camera side. As a result the processing agent spreads between the negative film and the positive paper, and after a predetermined time a developed positive paper is obtained. An example of this film is the Polaroid film (trademark of the Polaroid Company). Furthermore, the so called mono sheet type films, of the non peel apart type are also known.
Conventionally, the film which has been taken out of the camera, is warmed by rubbing it with hands, or using a warm air blower, or by soaking in hot water. Moreover, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 64-33538, there is proposed an instant camera wherein a pair of rollers are provided in a film removal opening of a film cartridge in the camera, and a heater is housed inside the rollers.
With development using a developer, since a chemical reaction is involved, then temperature management is important. With the conventional methods however, due for example to differences in temperature with the seasons, it is not possible to carry out processing at an appropriate temperature for the processing agent. Therefore, due to poor coloring and poor contrast an attractive photograph with good definition cannot be reliably obtained. Moreover, with the abovementioned instant camera disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 64-33538, the roller makes line contact with the film, so that the film is only heated while passing through the roller. Therefore, during the development after removal from the camera, the film cannot be kept warm. Moreover, since the heater is housed inside the camera, then heat from the heater can have an undesirable influence on the film which has not yet been exposed. Furthermore, particularly during winter or in cold regions, then even if an insulated box or the like is used, development time is increased, so that there is the problem of variations in quality. Moreover, with the spreading of the processing agent between the negative film and the positive paper by the roller on the camera side, the situation can arise where due to deterioration of the roller, the processing agent is not spread evenly. Therefore, even if pressure is applied by hand, the processing agent will not be spread evenly. Consequently, with the conventional method, development irregularities occur due to the ambient temperature at the development site, or due to unevenness of the processing agent resulting for example from deterioration of the roller, thus making it difficult to obtain a finish of uniform quality.